Home

WRYNECK…

Received a report via my website of a lady at Oakenshaw near to TH Beck that on 17/8/2015 she saw what she described as a browny greyish Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on a tree in her garden.  The lady watched the bird for about five minutes.  She then looked in her RSPB guide book and ID the bird as a Wryneck.…..

At first I have to be honest and thought it can’t be…But I have spoken to her twice now and got a description as well as how it behaved and I am now saying I believe it was a Wryneck which is a brilliant find.  Interestingly a Wryneck was seen at Scammonden (Huddersfield) on the 7/9/15.

On her behalf I have submitted the sighting to the Bradford Ornithological Group to see if there is enough evidence to have the record accepted…so what this space.

 

 

warbler26 Birds, homepage No Comments

Autumn butterflies and Ragwort…

The plant Ragwort always seems to get bad press as it can be poisonous to horses.  But  from a wildlife perspective Ragwort is an excellent wildlife plant and provides food into November for many insects.  With the weather being fairly warm and sunny today I checked the local patches of Ragwort for butterflies and found 2 Small Copper, 2 Peacock and 1 Small Tortoiseshell all feeding.

IMG_0473

Small Copper

IMG_0475

Peacock

IMG_0472

Small tortoiseshell

warbler26 Butterflies/Moths, homepage No Comments

Moths and the Southerly winds…

The recent south/easterly winds have been bringing migrants moths to mainly southern Britain from the near continent.  The moth that everyone is talking about is the Convolvulus Hawk-moth.  The chances of getting one of these large beautiful moths in Bradford is I think slim…But one has reach Huddersfield!

So I have keeping the moth trap on at Caldene Fields mainly to see if any migrant moths appear and this morning the commonest one did a Silver Y.  Whether this one is a true migrant just in from the continent or has bred I’m not sure but I guess the latter…

IMG_0457

warbler26 Butterflies/Moths, homepage No Comments

Holly Blue and the one that got away…

Yesterday I found a female Holly Blue feeding on heather at Raw Nook Nr…It is uncommon to have sightings of this species in autumn here.  Then as I was walking back through the reserve I glimpsed a juvenile Phylloscopus warbler showing fairly clean whitish underparts, suggesting a Wood Warbler…but sadly the bird was gone in a flash so it goes in the ‘ One that got away drawer’…Oh! well..

IMG_0408

The Lowland Heath habitat at Raw Nook Nr

IMG_0416

IMG_0440

Rowan berries…waiting for the Thrushes to arrive

IMG_0441

 

 

warbler26 Butterflies/Moths, homepage No Comments

Goldfinches a plenty…

I decided to do a mornings birding around the patch today with two things in mind.  One was to see if there were any new migrants passing through and the other to see how many local migrants had moved on during this cool spell.  However, I was distracted by the excellent number of Goldfinches that are feeding at the moment at Caldene Fields.  An estimated count was made of 120+ birds including many juvenile birds.  Also within this group were at least 4 Siskin and 1 Lesser Redpoll.

IMG_0370

A total of 29 different species were recorded.  But what was interesting was that I didn’t record any Blackbirds, Dunnock or House Sparrow……  Having said that House Sparrows tend to leave Caldene Fields and local gardens around this time of the year probably taking advantage of other food sources and returned around October.  A guess might be that the Blackbird and Dunnock are doing the same.

A Brown Hawker dragonfly and a male Common Darter were at Toad Holes Beck.

Female Common Darter

Female Common Darter

 

 

warbler26 Birds, homepage No Comments

Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the move…

Whilst conducting my visible migration watch this morning at Caldene Fields I observed 4 single Great Spotted Woodpeckers flying to the west plus I had one local bird in Raw Nook Nr…all very interesting.

Though the birds do not typically migrate, they can be nomadic with regards to the best food sources throughout the year, so they are on the move…keep an eye you may notice movements of these woodpeckers.

warbler26 Birds, homepage No Comments

Spotted Flycatcher passes through…

Did an hours vismigging (watching visible migration) this morning at Caldene Fields mainly to see if any Meadow Pipits were starting to move south.  However, none were recorded.  The first moving Chaffinch moved to the S/W followed by 3 Swallows to the W.

Two Willow Warblers were at the watch point and as I was walking back to Raw Nook Nr I saw a Spotted Flycatcher sitting on a fence.  The bird was passing through and this is the first sighting for many years…

warbler26 Birds, homepage No Comments

Low Moor Station…

You may ask what has the Low Moor railway station got to do with my wildlife site…Well a while ago my group the Low Moor & Oakenshaw Conservation Group was consulted about the planting scheme for the new station site.

This is where my wildlife record came into play.  I explained not only is the new station going to be adjacent to Raw Nook (Railway Terrace) nature reserve but my records show there is an urban migration route that runs S/W and the new station would be on that route.  Therefore if the planting could be of native species and perhaps a wildlife meadow this would ecologically enhance the area.

Well the plans are now out for the new station and Brilliant news there is going to be a small wildlife meadow and native trees and shrubs are to be planted…

Please see plans: Low Moor station

warbler26 homepage No Comments
error: Content is protected !!